The situation at checkpoints in the south-Ukrainian autonomous
republic is tense. There are growing local fears of a collision
between the popular self-defense forces and the right-wing
separatists from the mainland. Two roads lead into the region. A
growing number of locals of all walks of life and varying
military experience are beginning to man the checkpoints.

“We want peace in our country, we don’t want what was
happening in Kiev, we don’t want people to be hit with Molotov
cocktails, or be shot or killed,” Aleksandr, a local
resident, told RT.

“I don’t want war, but if it happens, no one will ask us, I
guess.”

They team up with members of the disbanded Berkut security forces
and other units loyal to the Crimean government. Just the past
week has seen officers resigning en masse to join up with this
people’s army. Even Cossacks in their traditional wear have
started popping up among the ranks.

The self-proclaimed leadership in Kiev arouses suspicion and its
legitimacy is questioned by civilian and soldier alike after
passing a series of laws, among them the cancellation of the country’s official usage of
minority languages – Russian included. Crimea will feel the sharp
end of this fallout, with around half of its population being
ethnic Russians.

Defying orders, many units within the national armed forces have
started joining up with the pro-Russian Crimean government and
the locals fighting right-wing radicals. Recently, the commander
of the Ukrainian navy and most of the military stationed in the
peninsula took new oaths.

This brings the total number of troops who've reportedly switched
sides to nearly 6,000 in the last two days. They are likewise
joined by a Special Forces regiment from one of the country’s
most central cities, Kirovograd. On Sunday they refused a direct
order to march on the Self-Defense Forces patrolling Crimea.

“They refused because we are one country and one nation. Who
do these new rulers think they are,” a masked officer told
RT’s Maria Finoshina, who has just returned from one of the
Crimean checkpoints.

Visiting the locals who are now busy preparing for a possible
battle, two things become clear: on the one hand a glimmer of
hope that the remainder of the Ukrainian armed forces will soon
join the fight to preserve the nation’s unity; and on the other,
a fear that the right-wing units are making their way to the
Crimea too. Recent reports of weapons dumps in Western Ukraine,
among other things, are keeping the mixed ranks of the
Self-Defense Forces on constant alert.